This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Friday, 29 March 2013

While growing up in Pakistan, mixed vegetables masala was always a winter delight. Peas and carrots were winter vegetables and hence their
availability back then was seasonal, unlike today when almost everything is
available year round in Pakistan and elsewhere. This vegetable stir fry with a tomato gravy is a simple, pleasurable
and back to basics home cooking enjoyed in Pakistan in short chilly winter days
with sunny afternoons. Hope it cheers up
your dinner table where ever you cook it.

Add diced potatoes and carrots. Cook for 2 mins on high
heat. Add about a cup of water and curry leaves.

Let it boil on high heat and then immediately lower the heat to a medium simmer.
Cover the pan and cook till potatoes and carrots are almost done. Add peas (The peas I use
are cooked in 5 mins hence I add them in the last).

Add around ½ cup of more water. Let it gently simmer till
everything is cooked through and there is a bit of liquid and oil at the base of
the pan.

Add kasuri Methi and cook on slowest heat for 3-4 minutes with lid on the pan.
Mix it and switch off the stove. Add fresh coriander, chopped green chili and knobs of butter and serve
hot with a chappati and mint chutney.

Sunday, 17 March 2013

I was introduced to Lahori Murgh Channay after i moved to Lahore in 2003. My Lahori work colleagues somehow made it their mission to feed (Read: force feed) the new girl with authentic Lahori food. Those who know Lahore would know that no other urban city in Pakistan can compete and match the Lahori hospitality. Lahoris show their love and affection towards outsiders and visitors by feeding and overfeeding them with the best of the punjabi food which is rich, meaty & spicy. My Lahore born mother's cooking is clearly inspired by Punjabi food due to her roots. I am sharing this recipe from my mother’s kitchen where i have also added my two cents. This is a must try with boiled basmati rice or Roghni Naan.

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

An associate from my former university who is currently working on his PhD thesis on Pakistan asked me
if I could share a simple and basic recipe from Pakistani kitchen that he
could try. As I sat and thought about it, it took me a while to come up with it.
This was the first thing I learnt to cook as a 13 year old. Nothing fancy! Just
the Pakistani version of spiced scrambled eggs that is eaten with homemade chappati or toasted bread. It’s called Khageena. Ammi would cook this for a quick lunch or dinner when her fridge would be
empty of the groceries or we had just returned from a long journey. It takes about 15 mins to prepare and is delicious. This one is for you Captain Kirk.

Ingredients:

Eggs – 4

Oil – 3 Tbsp

Onions – 1 Large (finally chopped)

Potato – 1 small or ½ medium
sized (finally chopped in small pieces)

Tomatoes – 2 Medium (finally
chopped)

Green Chilies – 2 medium

Cumin – ½ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp (adjust as per
taste)

Chili powder – ½ tsp

Cumin Powder – ½ tsp

Fresh Coriander for garnish (chopped) – a handful

Method:

Break the eggs in a bowl and beat
them lightly. Keep aside.

In a frying pan heat the oil and add
chopped onions and potatoes. Fry for 7-8 mins till the onions are translucent
and potatoes are almost done.

Add Cumin and tomatoes. Be
careful as the tomatoes will splash. Add around ¼ cup of water to it. This will
help the tomatoes to breakdown. .

Add green chilies, salt, chili
powder and cumin powder to the mixture and wait for the water to dry.

As soon as the water is gone, add
eggs and mix. Cook the eggs and keep mixing till the eggs are done and the
mixture resembles minced meat.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Remove from the heat and serve with roti or bread.

Saturday, 2 March 2013

I was about 13 when Pakistan's first private television channel - NTM started broadcasting. Thunder cats became my
favorite cartoons back then. The Thunder Cats used to be aired
around dinner time. Meaning all of us siblings will be fixated around the tv while having dinner. Ammi gave up on trying to station us at the dinner table while our favorite cartoons were on. Our favorite dinner was potato and meat curry served with a paratha while watching our favorite cartoons. Life was perfect!

It still amazes me how a 13 year
old could eat parathas without any guilt or even a remote thought of weight
gain. Now i feel that even the thought of having a buttered paratha adds couple of pounds to
ones waist. I am sharing my favorite curry recipe in the loving memory of my favorite cartoons, guilt free Paratha
eating and being a 13 year old. At the same time i am thankful to the cosmic forces for letting my generation grow up without Hanna Montana. Maryam this
is for you. Thank you for sending me down the memory lane.

Potato and meat curry can be served with pea pulao, home made chappati - flat bread or buttered paratha.

Now add 350 ml ( 1 ½ cups) of
water and put the cover on to pressure cook.

The pressure cooking time for the
meat depends on the meat itself. I needed about 15 minutes of pressure cooking
to cook the mutton I had. (You might need more or less).

After 15 mins depressurize the
cooker under cold water and open it.
Check if the meat is tender or not. (If it is not done yet then pressure
cook it further for 5-10 mins. Replenish with a little bit of more water.)

Once the meat is tender then
remove the meat from the cooker and let it rest in a plate while you work on
the gravy. This ensures that the meat does not break down in further cooking.

Now increase the heat and dry up
the water in the mixture. It should become thick and the oil should come out on
the sides (see the photo).

Now add potatoes and the already
cooked meat. Add 450ml (2 cups) of water and let it boil on high heat.

Once it starts boiling reduce the
heat and let it simmer. The aim is to cook the potatoes and the oil comes up on
the surface. It can take between 15-25 mins(see the photo).